Belgium is a country full of wonderfully nice people with laid-back attitudes — except when it comes to beer. Belgians love their beer. Each and every town has its own brewery, and the country is rife with restaurants and cafés bursting with Belgian beer. Beers we might see as limited and special in the U.S. are almost ubiquitous in Belgium. Their beer cafés tend to be more like American coffee shops: small, intimate spaces run by locals where people can sit back, enjoy a beer or two and catch up with friends.
Below is a list of some of Belgium’s best beer spots to enjoy and learn all about beer in cities throughout Belgium:
Brussels
If you can only pick one Belgian city to get your beer fix — though you should definitely try for more — Brussels is your place. With major internationally renowned breweries and plenty of eclectic beer bars, Brussels definitely has it all.
- Brouwerij Cantillon: Cantillon Brewery is perhaps the most well-known brewer of the traditional Belgian gueuze lambic, and they’ve been doing it the same way since 1900. Self-guided and group tours are available, and both include small tasters of unblended and blended gueuze. There’s also a tasting room inside, as well as bottles for sale to go.
- Nuetnigenough: Advertised as “the Brussels brasserie for the greedy gluttons and fine beer lovers,” Neutnigenough is a small restaurant near the Brussels Grand Place that serves up traditional Belgian dishes. Not only does the food impress, but their beer menu also boasts many of the rarer Cantillon beers (Fou Foune, Lou Pepe Framboise, St. Lamvinus) and other Belgian notable breweries, like 3 Fonteinen, Fantome and De Ranke.
- Moeder Lambic: Now with two locations in Brussels, Moeder Lambic (“Mother Lambic”) is a Belgian beer bar specializing in sour beers only. Their menus mostly include lambics and other sour beers from the top Belgian breweries, with a few other European breweries thrown in for good measure. No American brews allowed.
- Delices et Caprices: This gem is a small bottle shop in an alley off of the St. Hubert Gallery mall. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about what’s new and good, including beers from Cantillon, Tilquin and Boon. Get your to-go bottles here, because the prices are reasonable and you’ll avoid those overpriced, touristy souvenir bottle shops. They’ll even bubble-wrap your wares for you so your new treasures will survive the flight home.
- A La Bécasse: If you’re on the hunt for a traditional lambic, gueuze or kriek, you have to visit A La Bécasse. Pour a house Lambic Doux or Witte from a ceramic jug and enjoy some simple snacks in this pub which has been in operation since 1877—all by the same family.
- A l’Imaige Nostre-Dame: A beautiful estaminet with a medieval feel and fewer tourists than most of the other establishments you may be pointed towards. Soak up history, drink down traditional Belgian brews and chat up the locals for advice for your next authentic Brussels stop.
Antwerp
Antwerp is a port city about 45-minutes north of Brussels that tends to embrace the Flemish side of Belgian culture. Don’t worry, though — most people in Belgium do speak English. Antwerp is the second largest city behind Belgium, with almost half a million people.
- Kulminator: Walking into Kulminator, you may see the stacked boxes and empty bottles and assume you’re in the wrong place. But peek around and you’ll find the elderly couple that runs this small, cave-like bar. Glancing at the draft board, you may not see too much, but when the proprietor drops the nearly two-inch binder full of bottle lists, you’ll quickly change your mind.
- Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat: Duvel-Moortgat has recently been in the news due to their acquisition of American breweries like Boulevard, Firestone Walker and Brewery Ommegang. If you have a large enough group, you can take a tour, which includes a professionally guided tour of the brewery and bottling plant, an introduction to properly pouring beer and a tasting of two of their beers.
Bruges
Most people refer to Bruges as the place where Colin Farrell once played a hitman in a dark indie comedy, but Bruges is much more than that. This city tends to be a little more touristy than other major cities in Belgium, especially the town’s main center, but it does have its beer options if you can find them.
- B Taste: This unique beer bar is somewhat hidden inside the halls of the Old Saint John site. B Taste is the world’s first pour-it-yourself bar and will eventually include over 100 taps. Pick up a pre-paid beer “credit card,” scan it at any beer tap and pour as little or as much as you want. This taster’s paradise is perfect for trying tons of mostly Belgian beers one ounce at a time and collecting some bottles to go.
- Brouwerij De Halve Maan: The Half Moon Brewery is as local as you can get for beer in Bruges. They specialize in tripels and quadruples under the Straffe Hendrik label, and Belgian blonde ales and dubbels under their Brugse Zot label (in addition to a few other seasonal beers). Make a reservation online at least a day before, and you can also tour its facilities.
- ‘t Brugs Beertje: “Bruges’ Little Bear” is the brainchild of Daisy Claeys and carries 300 different beers—five on draft. Tucked away in the heart of Bruges’ shopping area, this cozy bar still attracts visitors from around the world with its charm and beer selection. If you feel overwhelmed by the beer list, ask Daisy or one of the brilliant staff for their recommendation—their hospitality is second-to-none.
Ghent
Ghent is a much younger town than most of the other major cities in Belgium, since it houses Ghent University, a public research university with over 60,000 students. Ghent is a bit more vibrant than most of the other bigger cities and contains lots of art exhibit, museums, and of course, beer.
- Herberg de Dulle Griet: Named for the woman who, according to Flemish folklore, led an army of peasant women to pillage the depths of Hell, Dulle Griet is an authentic Belgian bar that boasts the largest beer selection in Ghent: over 350 beers. They also require you to remove a shoe when you order their “Max Beer,” which comes in a yard glass, and promptly hoist it up to the ceiling in a basket until you finish and pay your tab. Forget about it, and you’re walking home a little lopsided.
- Huyghe Brewery: The brewer of the Delirium label, as well as few others, is located just outside of the city of Ghent. Like most larger breweries in Belgium, you will need a group of at least fifteen people to take a tour, but the tour does include a beer tasting.
Others
Belgium is full of beer and beer history in many parts of the countryside, far away from its major cities. Unless you’re traveling by car, some of these locations may be a little more difficult to get to, but are definitely worth the trip out there.
- Watou: Watou is home to the Saint Bernardus brewery, most famous for its Abbot 12 quadruple and its previous commercialization of beer for the Saint Sixtus Abbey. They also have a quaint Michelin-rated bed and breakfast attached, with all the beer you care to drink available in the spacious living area downstairs.
- Vleteren: Home of the Saint Sixtus Abbey, famous for brewing the world-best Westvleteren XII quadruple, Vleteren is also out in the countryside, near the French border. For those who can’t get through to the abbey’s beer phone for cases to go, the abbey has a tasting room café across the street where you can try all of their beers and take a limited supply home. Try some of their delicious monk-made abbey cheese while sipping brews amongst the locals.
- Poperinge: Poperinge used to be the very center of hop-growing in all of Belgium. Today, you can find the Hopmuseum Poperinge, an entire museum dedicated to the growing, farming and cultivation of European hops, including copious amounts of dried hops spread throughout the exhibits.
- Ypres: Ypres is a highly significant location in World War I history and contains Saint Bernardus’s only brewpub in Belgium (the only other one in the world is in Tokyo). The Brasserie Kazematten makes three beers of their own (Grotten Sante Belgian Dark Ale, Wipers Times 14 Belgian Pale Ale and Wipers TImes 16 Dubbel) that are not available at the Saint Bernardus brewery.
